Further development of district administration

In his 2007 Policy Address, the Chief Executive announced that to improve work at the district level and further the development of district administration, the Government would enhance the roles of District Councils (DCs) and the District Officers (DOs).

The Government has fully implemented the measures to enhance the functions of 18 DCs with effect from January 2008 when the new DC term begins, having regard to the experience of the pilot scheme. The DCs will be involved in the management of designated district facilities. The annual funding for the DCs to conduct community involvement activities and district minor works projects has also been increased. Additional manpower support has been given to DCs. We have also prepared new guidelines on the use of DC funds and arranged briefing sessions to familiarize DC Members and our staff with the new guidelines and measures.

Pilot Scheme on enhanced functions of DCs

A pilot scheme was launched in January 2007 in four selected districts, namely Wan Chai, Wong Tai Sin, Tuen Mun and Sai Kung for one year. The Government has engaged the University of Hong Kong (HKU) to conduct an indpendent study to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot scheme and to test the new guidelines and measures to enhance the functions of DCs.

We invited the four pilot districts to share their experience on implementing activities and conducting works projects under the pilot scheme with other DC members in September 2007. The effectiveness of the pilot scheme and key findings of the study were reported to Legislative Council Membesr at the meeting of the LegCo Home Affairs Panel on 14 December 2007. The HKU research team also highligthed the results of the study and shared their observations of the pilot scheme with DC members in briefing sessions held in March 2008. For further information on the experience of the pilot scheme, please see below-

Guidelines on the Use of DC funds

Following the enhanced functions and increase in funding for DCs, the Government devised new "Manual on the Use of DC Funds" and "Guidelines for Implementing District Minor Works Projects" for DCs.

Briefing on District Administration

To further strengthen the communication and cooperation between government departments and DCs, we have been exchanging views with DC members on various issues on a macro level since January 2008.